16. Noah
Chapter sixteen
Noah
Present Day
"First, I want to thank Rory for giving me the opportunity to speak to everyone today," Yong-rae says to the small crowd.
The noisy generators powering the production lights almost drown out his voice, and he has to stand on the steps of the dailies trailer to be seen past the first three rows of people.
Most of the surrounding faces are in various states of irritation or impatience, with Tabitha and Awa leading the charge. This apology might be long overdue, but during filming, time is money. I subtly gesture for him to get on with his speech.
"I know we've got a full day of shooting ahead of us, so I won't take too much of everyone's time, but I wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior on set.
"Though you don't need me to say this because I'm sure it's glaringly obvious, I've never worked on a film of this scale. On my last movie, the official bathroom was a Starbucks around the corner, and craft services was turkey sandwiches and chips, not a full coffee cart and pastries."
That earns a few chuckles from the crew, and the knot in my chest loosens infinitesimally. I point up, directing Yong-rae to turn up the charm even further. From the snort to my right, Awa didn't miss my coaching, but I don't care. Whatever it takes is the theme of the day.
"But that all stops now. Gary?" He motions to the key grip. "I've tripped over your rigs for the last time." Gary, a tall, burly man who looks like he could play professional rugby, huffs out a breath that I assume is his version of a laugh.
"Kennedy?" Yong-rae nods at the diminutive woman with pale brown hair and an ever-present backwards baseball hat who serves as the boom operator. "I'll hit my mark so you don't pick up my pants rustling on every take." She bows her head in thanks, but remains quiet as ever.
"And you," he turns to Tabitha, who's sipping a steaming cup of coffee, one hand on her hip. "I will pull my weight. No more forgetting my lines or stepping on yours."
He gives her a rueful grin, but her expression remains impassive.
That's fine; Yong-rae will win her over.
If there's anything I've learned since landing him as a client over a year ago, it's that when he really wants something, he puts everything he has into it.
He may have fucked up, but he won't waste his second chance.
Rory stands up from where she was leaning against a nearby trailer.
"All right," she yells, clapping her hands. "Yong-rae's ready to work, so let's get to it!"
Everyone immediately resumes their duties prepping the first scene. There's no applause, no commentary. It's just back to business.
I see Tabitha slowly approaching Yong-rae, her face still skeptical.
"Did you mean what you said?" she challenges, keeping her voice low enough that most passersby won't hear. But I do, and so does Awa from her position at her flank. She raises an eyebrow at me.
"Every word," Yong-rae vows. His tone is earnest, and that seems to thaw some of Tabitha's chilly demeanor.
"I hope so," is all she says before walking towards hair and makeup.
Yong-rae lets out a shaky breath when she's out of earshot.
"Did that go well?" he asks. I purse my lips.
"It's too soon to tell," I hedge. "You're an actor. Lots of actors are great with words, but then don't actually back them up. Will you? Will you follow through on the promise you just made Tabitha, or are you going to let either your ego or your imposter syndrome get in the way of your job?"
He shakes his head emphatically.
"No. I almost lost this gig with my bonehead behavior. It won't happen again."
I can only hope his words are genuine. This isn't baseball. Here, two strikes—sometimes just one—and you're out.
"Cut!" Edward calls out in frustration. He yanks the headset from his head and storms off to his trailer, followed by a flurry of worried-looking assistants. Neither Tabitha nor Yong-rae seems to notice.
"Why do you insist on talking over me?" Tabitha screeches, her nostrils flaring.
"They're in a fight!" Yong-rae counters, puffing out his chest. "You think he's supposed to politely wait his turn to speak?"
"If it's written in the script? Yes! I do!" Tabitha thunders back. "And if I remember correctly, you said you were going to 'pull your weight' around here," she says mockingly, "Or was that more bullshit, like me getting stuck with you in this role?!"
Yong-rae clenches his jaw, and I rush towards them from my place off camera, Awa hot on my tail.
"Pull my weight, yes. Give up all creative license and defer to your interpretation of my character? Hell no!"
"Why don't we all just take a beat and calm things down?" I suggest in my best attempt at a soothing tone. If Awa's stony glare is anything to go by, I missed it by a mile.
"Why are you telling my client to calm down?" she demands, frost in her words. "Your client gave that big speech and now he thinks he knows better than Tabitha Styles?"
She steps into my personal space, but I stand my ground. We may have known each other in college, but if she thinks I'm backing down from supporting my client, she definitely doesn't know me now.
"Enough!" Rory shouts, getting between the four of us with her arms outstretched.
"While you're busy biting each other's heads off, you failed to notice that the director just walked out!"
Yong-rae looks around quickly to find Edward; his chest deflates when he sees she's right. The only ones still here to witness this catastrophe are us and a handful of pissed-off crew members. Man, I hope none of them go to the press about this.
"Tabitha!" Rory stabs a finger in her direction. "You may be experienced, but you are not running the show. The director is the only one I want giving notes from here on out. Got it?!"
I can see Tabitha swallowing down an indignant retort, but she inclines her head before stomping off to her trailer. Awa shoots me a scowl as she goes to follow her client.
"Not so fast, Awa!" Rory bellows. "I'd like a word."
Awa stops reluctantly, her arms folded over her chest.
"Yong-rae," Rory continues, "go ahead and make yourself scarce for a bit too. I need to have a little talk with your representation."
I give him a slight nod when he hesitates, and he walks slowly to his own trailer, grabbing an apple and a protein bar on the way.
"What in the fuck is going on with you guys?" Rory asks once we're alone. "I've never seen anything like it. You're supposed to be calming your clients down, helping things run smoothly on set. Instead, you're riling them up?"
Awa and I both start speaking simultaneously.
"You know better than anyone—" Awa protests.
"Yong-rae did nothing wrong—" I argue.
Rory puts her fingers to the bridge of her nose, and we both fall silent.
"You two have no idea how close the studio is to pulling the plug completely," Rory whispers without looking at us.
Seeing her so utterly defeated, my heart sinks. I came here to help and now I'm letting my worry about Yong-rae and my history with Awa confuse things.
"I'm giving you one last chance to fix this," Rory mutters. "Talk to your clients. Let them know what they stand to lose."
"Yong-rae knows," I interject, but Rory's harsh look stops me from saying more.
"They better play nice, or they're done," she warns. She takes off her headset and starts after Edward, then stops just a few feet away. "Oh, and from now on, you're both restricted to the video village."
"What?" Awa gasps.
"You can't be serious," I say.
Rory fixes her icy gaze on me.
"I'm deadly serious. Both of you are only making things worse. Talk to your clients, then grab your belongings and set up in the video village." She shrugs. "It's either that, or you're no longer welcome on set."
With that, she turns and leaves Awa and me standing with matching expressions of shock. How the hell did things get this out of hand this fast?